Sunday, November 14, 2010

Copyedits, Book 2, Twitter, and MY TEETH

Yay, I’m going on vacation! All the girls are meeting in Montana next weekend, and by all the girls I mean my mom, sister, sisters-in-law, and NO kids. Here's what I've got lined up:

1. Pedicures
2. Running with my sister
3. Teasing my mom until she breaks down and swears at me
4. Convincing my sisters-in-law that they married morons
5. Team Edward vs. Team Jacob wrestling match. Losers get thrown in the lake.

That last one is a whole lot funnier if you know the participants and can picture the hair pulling. I’m just going to save myself the hassle of getting disowned and clarify now that MY MOM NEVER SWEARS, and MY BROTHERS ARE NOT MORONS. Oh, and also there is a Santa Clause, and Edward isn’t a jerk.

Writing News:

I got the green light for Book 2!!! I sent the first three chapters and synopsis to my editor a couple of weeks ago, and got the good news last week. Sweet relief! This means I don’t have to hurl my computer off a building, buy a new computer, and then start writing a new novel. I’ve put way too much time and love into this new book to be zen about a rejection, so yay! I feel like I can finally take a deep breath. By the way, this book (and I hope “this book” isn’t my final title) will be out in fall of 2012.

On an awesome note, looky here at what Anica-the-nicest-editor-in-the-world sent me?

I call this face the half-blinky. Tyra doesn't teach it on America's Next Top Model because you're either born with it or you're not. Anyway, Anica felt bad for me because I’ve had a horrific two-week run of dental trauma (crown, crown, root canal, molar extraction,dry socket, bridge, and probably more coming up). Or quite possibly she just wanted me to shut up already about my teeth on Twitter.

But for real, what else am I going to tweet about? Forgetting to pick up my kid at the bus stop? Check. What I’m eating? Check. Sister Wives wanting to make my head explode? Check. I’ve tweeted about all of those things, because whatever I feel passionately about at the moment is what ends up in that little box. I have great respect for writers who are able to use Twitter as a marketing tool and come off cool (there are lots who do it well), but I really feel like spewing randomness is more my style. Especially when my oral surgery comes along with a fancy prescription. Maybe someday I’ll grow up enough to tweet significantly, but until then it will continue to be my ranting receptacle. I must say, it feels like good therapy. If you haven't tried, give it a whirl.

So just when I was about to sit down and enjoy my new books, this arrived:

VIRTUOSITY, fresh from copyedit land, ready for me to work my way through! I felt like a starving five-year-old who’d been given broccoli and a candy bar, and told do the right thing.

Quite the dilemma. On the one hand I had pretty new books to escape into, and on the other hand I had the manuscript I’ve already read a gazillion times to mull over. Hmm…

Since I was the loser kid who ate the broccoli first just in case someone was watching, I forced myself to go through the entire copyedited manuscript in one sitting last night. SURPRISE: not at all painful! It was kind of fun actually, mulling over commas and semicolons into the wee hours of the night. The only lame part was discovering that I have no idea how to use lay/lie/layed/lied/laid/lode/liederhosen properly, and now a whole string of people at Simon Pulse know that too. I am ashamed (but not too ashamed to admit it here, apparently) that I looked it up every time I used it, so I actually thought I was using it correctly. Thanks for nothing, Google and my English degree. Just kidding kids, stay in school.

So now I can read my books guilt free, as soon as I write the acknowledgments and dedication. Easy. I’m acknowledging my dentist, my endodontist, and my oral surgeon. And the dedication…um, actually I’m putting that on ebay. Bidding starts at $5. Don’t be stingy.

5 comments:

Ugg so I just tried to make a post and then something happened and my post was gone! I'd like to tell you that it was really witty and inspiring and that I'm devastated that you don't get to read it but that's just not true. So in short yeah for the green light on your new book, yeah for a sisters/mother vacation and a big boo for the teeth! Oh and I hope you have a great week.

Whenever I hear mention of semicolons I am reminded of Kurt Vonnegut's famous advice: "Here is a lesson in creative writing. First rule: Do not use semicolons. They are transvestite hermaphrodites representing absolutely nothing. All they do is show you've been to college."

About Me

I write books for teens.
My first novel, VIRTUOSITY, is being published by Simon Pulse in Fall 2011.
My second novel will also be published by Simon Pulse in 2012.
I'm repped by superstar agent Mandy Hubbard.